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House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said Feb. 15 that an infrastructure bill could be ready “closer to summer” now that the Trump Administration has unveiled its infrastructure proposal.

NATSO joined trade associations representing more than a million businesses in telling Congress that any new federal law on data breach notification should apply to all industries that handle consumer data.

NATSO joined 39 trade associations representing millions of job creators in every industry and sector of the U.S. economy in urging the U.S. Senate to take up the House-passed “Save Local Business Act” (H.R. 3441), which would redefine the definition of “joint employer” in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The House of Representatives on Feb. 15 voted 225-192 in favor of the ADA Education and Reform Act (H.R. 620), which would require any Americans with Disabilities Act civil action to specifically identify the alleged ADA violations or barriers to access being alleged. The bill would further provide defendants that own public accommodations (such as truckstop operators) a time period during which they can remedy alleged violations without being found liable in court.

The economy is accelerating, consumer spending is strong, freight volumes are increasing and the country is undergoing the third longest economic expansion in history, all of which is boding well for the trucking industry, Bob Costello, chief economist for American Trucking Associations, told attendees of NATSO Connect.

The Trump Administration on Feb. 12 officially rolled out its proposal for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan, which contains several policy provisions that would crush the truckstop and travel plaza industry.

Advances in Class 8 autonomous and electric truck technologies continue to make headlines, but executives from two major trucking companies said they don’t expect the new technology to bring major changes to the long-haul trucking industry any time soon. However, hours-of-service and electronic logging device mandates are bringing changes that have made the speed of service at truckstops and travel plazas even more important.

E-commerce is a $300 billion industry disrupting the face of retail and continues to grow within the United States. During NATSO Connect, Ken Cassar, a principal analyst at Slice Intelligence, told attendees that online sales are impacting their businesses, but there are ways truckstop and travel plaza operators can tap into the trend to offer convenience to their customers.

In today’s retail landscape, truckstop and travel plaza operators are not only competing with each other, but also with other highly competent retailers, making innovation even more important. During NATSO Connect, operators came together in The Great Ideas! Session to learn more about what is working for their peers, get inspiration from both inside and outside of the industry and think through how they can adapt ideas to work for them.

E-commerce, the driver shortage and shifts in consumer demands are changing the operating environment for truckstops and travel plazas and shaking up the retail industry. During the kickoff keynote address at NATSO Connect, four executives addressed the latest trends disrupting the industry, ranging from the trucking industry’s length of haul to the number of consumer trips to the store, giving operators insights to help prepare for the future.

The budget deal that Congress passed on Feb. 8 restores the 9-cent-per-barrel tax on oil to pay for spill cleanups. The tax will not take effect until March 1, 2018, however, and will not be applied to transactions taking place between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28.

Congress yesterday passed and President Trump signed legislation providing for a retroactive biodiesel blenders' tax credit for 2017, leaving the credit's status in 2018 and beyond uncertain. The measure was included as part of a larger budget package that will keep the federal government funded for the foreseeable future.

The White House said that the unveiling of President Donald Trump’s infrastructure proposal would again be delayed, citing the recent government shutdown. The announcement came just one day after the President said that his plan would arrive “in a week or two, right after the State of the Union Address.”

President Donald Trump called on Congress to produce a bipartisan $1.5 trillion bill for new infrastructure investment during his first State of the Union address last night, saying it would provide a safe, fast, reliable and modern infrastructure that the U.S. economy needs.

A draft document leaked to press on Jan. 22 and widely speculated to be the funding principles for the Trump Administration’s long-awaited infrastructure plan called for liberalizing tolling policy and allowing states to commercialize interstate rest areas among its proposals for funding infrastructure, both of which would dramatically undercut businesses that operate at the Interstate exits.

An under-the-radar component of the legislation Congress passed on Jan. 22 to end the three-day government shutdown was a provision to delay implementation of the excise tax on high-cost employer health coverage (known as the "Cadillac tax" for an additional two years, until 2022.

Tolls represent a regressive double tax that disproportionately hurts lower income drivers and will create significant disruptions for local communities, a representative of the Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates said in a recent interview with National Public Radio (NPR).

NATSO Foundation President Lisa Mullings today told members of the House Committee on Homeland Security that the truckstop and travel plaza industry plays a vital role in combating human trafficking that takes place along the nation’s Interstate Highway System. NATSO was invited to participate as an example of the positive role that the private sector can play in the fight against human trafficking.